Day 0 · Jury Selection
Judge Penney Azcarate · Depp v. Heard · 1 proceeding · 2,407 utterances
Jury selection opened with a judicial admonishment over Heard's weekend social media post, processed hardship excusals, and removed two jurors for pretrial bias before seating the panel.
Full day summary
Key Moments
- Judge Azcarate admonished Heard's weekend social media post as jury-tainting and took Depp's sanctions motion under advisement rather than rule mid-selection.
- Judge Azcarate formally introduced the case to the venire, naming Depp as plaintiff and Heard as defendant and framing the defamation claims at issue.
- Juror 7 was struck after disclosing a formed opinion about the case stemming from pretrial publicity exposure.
- Juror 26 was excused after revealing a prior domestic abuse experience he said would prevent him from being impartial.
Notable Quotes
Penney Azcarate
“This tainted my jury. There's going to be repercussions.”
Judge signals displeasure with Heard's weekend social media post and foreshadows possible sanctions if jurors saw it.
Penney Azcarate
“The name of this case is John C. Depp I versus Amber Heard.”
Formal introduction of the case to the venire, establishing the parties and framing the proceedings for prospective jurors.
Juror Number 26
“I've been abused domestically.”
Disclosure that prompted Juror 26's removal after he acknowledged the experience would prevent impartial judgment on domestic abuse claims central to the case.